STEPPING UP

An overview of the concerns and priorities of Generation Z, who have grown up with social media, are more racially diverse than previous generations, and face a plethora of local and global challenges that affect their immediate and long-term futures.

The roughly 69 million Americans born between 1997 and 2012 make up about 20% of the U.S. population. In addition to demographic characteristics, Sheen draws on public survey results to describe them, sometimes presenting superficial generalizations: “As a group, Gen Z is pragmatic.” She also asserts that they’re future-focused and more concerned with addressing critical issues than party politics. The book features profiles of some young people who have won recent elections, including Florida Representative Maxwell Frost, Illinois State Representative Nabeela Syed, and Earle, Arkansas, mayor Jaylen Smith. Sheen sounds an alarm—“many Gen Zers are disillusioned with how lawmakers are addressing issues that concern them and the world they will inherit.” As a result, while over 60% of them support democratic principles, 66% think this country is “headed in the wrong direction”; democracy, as they’re experiencing it, isn’t always working. Contextualizing their feelings, she explains, for example, that many Gen Zers attend college, become burdened with onerous student loan debt, and then face a rapidly changing job market shaped by AI and a weak social safety net. Ample photos and text boxes punctuate the accessible text.

A concise overview of an influential generation.